


Six Times Fate

by listenforthelove



Category: No. 6 - Asano Atsuko
Genre: Library AU, M/M, as said what was I even thinking, coffee shop AU, fake date au, plane ride AU, roommates au, well more or less, what was i even thinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-06
Updated: 2015-06-06
Packaged: 2018-04-01 21:46:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4035694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/listenforthelove/pseuds/listenforthelove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alternative title: five (meetings) plus one (reunion) equals six.<br/>I somehow thought it was a good idea to write 5 different AUs. Oh, and a little canon something. I'm not even going to apologize anymore. Cliches definitely 100% intended.</p><p>Written for Double No. 6 Day, 6/6/2015, hence the 6's.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Coffee Shop

**Author's Note:**

> Because who _doesn't_ like overly cliché alternative meetings?  
>  Rating mostly goes for language, just in case. 
> 
> And of course, welcome to the coffee shop. Please enjoy my utter disregard of actual coffee shop reality and casual mentions of bees.

It was a slow afternoon. Nezumi was ready to fall asleep on the counter when a new customer stumbled in, almost tripping over the big shoulder bag he was carrying.

“H-hi,” he said, stumbling over his words too as he made it to the counter and offered Nezumi an awkward grin. “Ehm. C-can I have a strong coffee with extra milk, please?”

Nezumi raised his eyebrow at the customer. He had a mop of stark white hair, but his face looked like he was young enough to still be in high school; the book in his hand suggested otherwise, considering Nezumi couldn’t decipher the title for shit and he wasn’t exactly lacking in the language department himself. “Latte?”

“What?” Big, dark eyes (and was that a hint of purple in them? Wait, why was he paying attention to them?) blinked at him in confusion.

“The coffee. Latte? Something else?”

“Ehm. Sure?”

Nezumi sighed and picked up a cup to scribble the order on it. “Name?”

“Huh?”

“Your _name_. For on the cup.”

“But I’m the only one here.”

Nezumi shrugged. “Procedure. Whatever.” He was about to just pass the cup behind him when the boy perked up.

“Shion,” he said, “like the flower.”

“Okay, Shion-like-the-flower.” Nezumi scribbled the name on the cup and nodded. “Go take a seat, your order will be right up.”

The boy positively _beamed_ at him, as if Nezumi had done something much more than the absolute minimum his manager required of him, and made his way to one of the tables in the back. Nezumi watched him long enough to see flower boy banging his bag on the table, flinching at the loud sound, and starting to unpack as if he wasn’t going anywhere within the next couple of hours.

 

He wasn’t. Going anywhere, that is. Shion stuck around for four hours, while Nezumi took care of both register and coffee making. It really wasn’t busy today and Inukashi had been so rude as to take the day off.

Nezumi briefly contemplated striking up a conversation, just for the hell of it, but Shion seemed completely absorbed in his books. He got up several times to ask for a refill, eyes a bit glassy as if he was still working on whatever it was. Nezumi hoped it was something school related and not a plot to overthrow the government or something. He didn’t want to be responsible as the sole caffeine deliverer of a future tyrant.

 

Shion came back the next day, when it was a little busier and Inukashi was back from whatever the hell was so important that it warranted a free day. Nezumi never quite figured that out, but it probably had something to do with dogs anyway. Mutt lover.

Shion wasn’t alone today either; a girl with short brown hair accompanied him, carrying a bag herself that looked considerably thinner than Shion’s.  

“Hi,” Shion said, immediately seeking out Nezumi’s spot. “Ehm, can I have another latte, please?”

“Sure.” Nezumi picked up a cup and scribbled his order. “Shion, right?”

“Ah, yes.”

Next to him, Inukashi suddenly looked up from an order to stare at Nezumi. He pretended to ignore it. “Coming right up. And for you, miss?”

“The chocolate special, for Safu,” the girl spoke briskly.

 

Nezumi managed to sneak a peek at the duo long enough to notice that Shion brought books while the girl brought the e-equivalent. They both had laptops to type out whatever they found, though.

“I’ll be damned,” Inukashi suddenly spoke up behind him, “gotta be the first time you remember someone’s name right off the bat. Didn’t see that guy here before.”

“He stands out.” Nezumi shrugged. “Not many college students with white hair around.”

“How do you even know he’s in college?”

“Did you see those books? Oh no, wait, I forgot you don’t even know what books are and would probably eat one given the chance.”

Inukashi grumbled. “Don’t expect any pity from me when someone finally throws a can of coffee in your face.”

“Zip it, mutt lover. There are customers.”

“Ugh.”

 

Nezumi thankfully had a day off from Inukashi’s face the next day, though he didn’t consider class the best alternative.

The next day, however, he was in for a surprise.

“You weren’t here yesterday,” was the first thing Shion told him as he shuffled in with his bag, alone this time. He was the only one in; yet another slow day.

“Eh, no. I had class.” Nezumi nodded at his books. “As do you, by the looks of it. Don’t you have a library to go study at?”

Shion gave him a sheepish grin. “Not allowed to eat or drink in there,” he said, “and I like your coffee. So.”

“Right.” Nezumi drew out the word, rolled his eyes. “Well, as long as you’re not plotting any coup d’états over there.”

Shion actually laughed. “My major is in ecology, not politics. And I don’t plan to overthrow the government with bees, no worries.”

  _What a dork_. Nezumi smiled despite himself, and found it was genuine. _Huh._ “Reassuring to hear. Latte again?”

“Please.”

Behind him, Inukashi was making gagging noises.

 

Shion came in almost daily after that. Sometimes his girlfriend accompanied him, but more often, he was alone.

For some reason, Nezumi was actually sort of looking forward to his arrival. On slow days, Shion struck up a conversation with him during orders. Apparently Shion was some kind of genius who was already working on his thesis, and Safu (Nezumi remembered her name as Shion mentioned her quite often) was his childhood friend. He laughed a little nervously when Nezumi asked ‘just a friend?’ and abruptly switched topics after that.

Shion was morbidly interested in Nezumi’s life, though he didn’t tell him much. Theater major, had to do something to make a living, might as well work at the local coffee shop since he needed his caffeine anyway, and so on. Inukashi was a filthy mutt lover but unfortunately the only regular employee he shared his shifts with, and so they tolerated each other.

Shion seemed to like Inukashi. Nezumi questioned his so-called genius intellect.

 

Actually, Inukashi was weirdly taken by Shion too, despite the fact Shion always placed his orders with Nezumi when he was around. Apparently Inukashi had helped him during days Nezumi had class, and apparently Shion didn’t know when to shut up once he started talking.

“Just give him your schedule or something, he keeps asking for you,” Inukashi told him, which was far from professional and Nezumi wisely ignored the comment. Shion should know his schedule by now anyway, he was here that often.

Nezumi idly wondered if Shion would continue coming after finishing his thesis, and found himself oddly hoping for it.

 

Shion was already in a couple of weeks later when Safu came in, first seeking out Shion in his now familiar corner before she made her way to the counter.

“Hello,” she said, “I would like a cappuccino, please.”

“Cappuccino, got it.” Nezumi reached for a cup and scribbled the girl’s name and her order, expecting her to join Shion at the table now, but instead, she kept looking at him. “Anything else?”

“Actually, I have a question.”

Nezumi put the cup down. “Well then, shoot.”

“When are you going to ask Shion out, Nezumi?”

Nezumi was really lucky he hadn’t decided to fill the cup instead, as he already bumped it off the counter in surprise now. Inukashi was in the back, but Safu had spoken loud enough and Nezumi definitely recognized that poorly disguised laughter. _Coffee related accident, huh, Inukashi_. Thankfully it wasn’t very busy. “Excuse me?”

“Well, it is all rather obvious.” Safu shrugged. “It doesn’t take a long time to observe you and notice that you act distinctly differently when interacting with Shion. You smile professionally at all customers in general, but your eyes betray that it is a genuine smile when you talk to Shion. Your attention seems almost inevitably drawn to Shion when time allows. Plus, of course, there’s the dilation of your pupils when you look at him, though I haven’t been able to witness that up close very often myself.”

Nezumi had absolutely, one hundred percent no time for this nonsense, and especially not for Inukashi losing it in the back. He grabbed a new cup, didn’t bother with the writing this time and instead went straight to the coffee machine. “Cappuccino, wasn’t it.”

“Yes.” Safu still didn’t leave him alone. “He talks about you a lot, you know. It is rather tiring, in all honesty.” She offered half a smile when he looked up, and Nezumi almost felt  kind of sorry for her. Almost, if she wouldn’t have been standing here making completely ridiculous statements. “From an objective point of view, it appears to me as if the best course of action here is to ask him out outside of your working environment. That would allow you two to talk more freely without any social barriers. You might find you enjoy it to spend more time together.”

Nezumi scoffed and placed the filled cup on the counter. “Here you go, Safu.”

“Thank you.” She paid and finally left him alone now, or at least as alone as could be with Inukashi staggering in from the back, stumbling with held-back laughter.

“Oh my _god_ ,” Inukashi finally brought out. “She has your number _so_ hard, it’s hilarious.”

“Yes, I gathered, your amusement is quite audible, thank you very much.” Nezumi picked up the cup he’d dropped earlier and dumped it in the trash, briefly considering throwing Inukashi in afterward. Probably not a good idea if he intended to keep his job, though. “Now shut the hell up and go make more coffee.”

“Hey, don’t take it out on me, lover boy.”

_Think of the job, think of the job_. “Get to work before I’m finding a way to get your ass fired, Inukashi.”

“Aw, you’d miss me.”  
“Like a hole in my head, for sure.”

 

As much as Nezumi hated to admit it, Safu’s words lingered in his head that day. Even Inukashi’s did – _my number, huh_.

Oh, screw it already.

 

Predictably, Shion came in again the next day, carrying significantly less books with him this time judging by the bulge of his bag.

“Almost done with your thesis?” he thus asked, which he considered a very normal question to ask to a regular. Or at least normal enough that it didn’t seem – _flirty_ , or whatever.

“Not quite.” Shion smiled. “But I’m ahead of schedule now. This is for fun.” He tapped his bag. “I’m trying to read some plays now. You mentioned Shakespeare, I got curious.”

“Oh.” That sounded – okay, never mind. “Ehm. Well, enjoy then. So. Latte?”

“Please.”

Nezumi didn’t always write Shion’s name on the cup anymore these days, but he did today. After a short moment of hesitation, he wrote a string of numbers on it too. If Shion wasn’t smart enough to figure that one out, he was obviously lying about the whole genius thing.

“Coming right up.”

 

Shion didn’t notice at first, clearly. He eagerly took his cup, thought it was a good idea to take some sips, and almost choked on it as he burned his tongue.

“Oops.” He gave Nezumi a sheepish grin as the latter returned to the counter, as new customers were lining up and Inukashi was already working on some orders.

Nezumi stole a quick glance in between, just in time to notice Shion glancing up from his giant book ( _The Collected Works of Shakespeare_ for starters? Seriously?), his gaze landing on the scribbling on the cup in front of him. For a moment he just stared; then, his eyed widened and he started patting his pockets immediately.

Nezumi almost spilled an espresso on his legs in his rush to turn back to a particularly impatient customer.

 

Five minutes later, he felt his phone buzzing in his pocket.


	2. Room mate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Shion gets a roommate. BET YOU DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... Look, I'm not saying I was partially inspired by the Carmilla web series but I'm not denying it either. (Despite the distinct lack of vampires.)

_Can’t be helped, huh._

Shion fell backwards on his bed, sighing a little to himself. He’d of course known that not all requests for single rooms could be fulfilled, but up until today, he’d been lucky. Unfortunately, a late new student had filed a request, and Shion was next on the list to be sharing his room.

Oh, well. It wasn’t that he was vehemently opposed against having a roommate, but it would have been nice to have the whole room for himself. But hey, maybe he’d end up with the perfect roommate who liked his room as organized and peaceful as Shion did.

 

Shion’s new roommate turned out to be quite possibly the worst roommate ever.

It only took the first day for him to come to this conclusion, though their introduction went fairly well, all things considered. His new roommate breezed into the room, introduced himself as ‘Nezumi’, dumped some stuff and bags on the empty bed and looked at Shion expectantly.

It took many seconds of staring before Shion realized Nezumi was waiting for him to introduce himself.  “Oh, ehm. I’m Shion,” he eventually managed, forcing himself to stop staring. Nezumi was… kind of really gorgeous. “Nice to meet you.”

“Yeah, whatever.” And Nezumi left the room again, leaving Shion to take a deep breath and sit down on his own bed for a bit. Nezumi had _grey_ eyes, and they had been pinning him down quite intensely for someone he’d just met. Or maybe Shion’s imagination was just running wild in response to this sudden introduction, who could tell.

So that was their first meeting. The second one didn’t go nearly so well.

 

Shion had gone out for some hours to meet up with Safu, who was studying at another faculty and lived with her grandmother close to campus. It was strange not seeing her daily anymore after they’d more or less grown up together since the age of two, and thus, they talked a lot about the things they’d missed out on already after just a couple of weeks.

It all ran a little late, and by the time Shion returned to his dorm, he was about to pass out from fatigue. He remembered he’d made his bed earlier, put everything in place so that he’d only have to slip into his pajamas for the night and he could just go to bed and sleep.

Unfortunately, it turned out his roommate had other plans in store for him. Nezumi was fast asleep, not even having bothered to crawl under a blanket or anything, which wouldn’t be a problem if he hadn’t elected to fall asleep on _Shion’s_ bed.

Shion cast a look at the other bed in the room, which was technically Nezumi’s, but was also technically covered in bags, books and even a couple of chairs right now.

Shion was really too tired to deal with this.

 

He woke up the next morning not because of his alarm clock, but because of the impatient tapping of a foot near his head. Shion groaned and forced his eyes open.

Nezumi was towering above him – or maybe it just looked that way because Shion had been sleeping on the floor, wrapped in a blanket and with an old spare pillow propped under his head. “Oh finally, you’re awake. You often sleep on the floor?”

“I usually prefer my own bed,” Shion grumbled, “if it’s not taken by my messy roommate, that is.”

“There’s another bed.”

“There is indeed. Covered with your stuff.”

Nezumi shrugged. “Suit yourself, then.” And with that, he got up and left the room.

Shion had already woken up in a terrible mood, and this wasn’t an improvement.

 

Nezumi was a _really_ terrible roommate. Shion liked to keep things organized; Nezumi left his books where he’d last read them, and that was just if he didn’t simply toss them on the floor. Shion kept a cleaning schedule; Nezumi just scoffed when he was told it was his turn to clean the bathroom, and Shion spent the next week scrubbing the shower extra well, as it was covered in an extra week of filth. Nezumi denied any responsibility, despite the fact that Shion’s hair was short and _white,_ thank you very much, and the shower drain happened to be filled with long, dark hairs. Nezumi did keep to the cooking schedule, but seemed to know only a couple of dishes and had no qualms about stealing from Shion’s snack packages sent by his mother. At least he complimented her baking.

 

The strange part was that Shion wasn’t as annoyed with Nezumi as he should be. He didn’t particularly enjoy having to do chores for two or having to kick Nezumi from his bed, but he found himself hanging out with Nezumi by his own volition when they happened to be in the room together. That wasn’t all that often, since most of Nezumi’s classes were in the evening while Shion’s were during the day. Nezumi held up good conversations, and he got Shion thinking. He talked about books and involuntarily suggested titles to Shion as he did; he actually showed some interest in Shion’s projects for ecology, and they could talk about a lot of heavy-handed topics as well as whatever random show was on television that Nezumi liked to call out for bullshit and Shion for scientific inaccuracies.

Shion couldn’t quite figure out what Nezumi was studying, since he didn’t like to talk about himself. He didn’t know about his family, or why he was in the dorms, or why he was so late signing up.

He did know Nezumi liked to read Shakespeare in his free time (and he had given Shion quite the scolding when he’d mispronounced the name); that he kept pet mice that he’d smuggled into the room one night and that Shion had taken quite the liking to, despite the extra cleaning and the possible repercussions if they were found out; that being with Nezumi somehow made him talk more than with anyone else, even with Safu or his mother; and that Nezumi apparently preferred Shion’s bed over his own when given the choice.

 

So far it had mostly meant that Shion had to take the other bed if he was home late, but two months into the semester, he woke up at five in the morning next to a warm weight in his bed that most definitely hadn’t been there when he’d gone to bed at ten.

Shion had barely had the time to process this information when he was kicked quite painfully against his legs.

“What the _hell_ , Nezumi!”

There was no response, and Shion grumpily pressed his eyes shut and tried to force himself asleep.

Nezumi was trashing in his sleep next to him and kicked him two more times before Shion decided he’d had it and Nezumi could just get up and go to his own bed.

Of course, that was the moment Nezumi actually kicked him out of bed and Shion landed on the floor, knees first.

As soon as he’d recovered from the pain, Shion got up and abruptly tore the sheets out of Nezumi’s clutches. “Wake _up_ , Nezumi!”

With a groan, Nezumi opened his eyes, light from the street lights outside reflecting in their grey. Shion was momentarily distracted until Nezumi opened his mouth. “The fuck, Shion, go back to sleep.”

“I was _planning_ on that until you kicked me out of _my own bed_!”

“Stop shouting, geesh!” Nezumi sat upright, feet on the floor. “I got the message. Fuck, my head hurts.”

“That’s your own fault for coming home so late and crashing in _my_ bed with _me in it_.”

“Right, because I took evening classes specifically to annoy you and definitely not because I have to work during the day.” Nezumi scoffed and stood up, seizing his head. “Not everything’s about you, Your Majesty. Fine, I’ll get out of your hair – go the hell back to sleep before I change my mind.”

“You just have to get out of my…” Shion was still in the middle of his sentence when Nezumi took his shoes and jacket in one fluid motion and briskly stomped out of the room. “…bed,” Shion finished meekly.

He hadn’t meant to come across as self-centered, but there were two beds in this room, for crying out loud. There was no reason Nezumi had to take his, especially not while Shion was already in it.

 

Nezumi didn’t show up that day until late at night again, and this time, Shion had stayed up for him. He was a little afraid Nezumi might not show up anymore. It might have also had something to do with what Safu had said earlier that day, though he preferred not to dwell on that.

Nezumi flung the door open with little ceremony, tossed his bag into a corner and locked Shion in his chair with that grey stare of his. “You’ll be delighted to hear I’m switching to a single room,” he said. “Costs a little extra, but everything to please his royal highness.”

“Nezumi.” Shion sighed. “You don’t have to leave, I just don’t want to get kicked out of my own bed when I have to get up early in the morning. Or at any time, period. Why don’t you just sleep in your own bed?”

Nezumi tore his eyes away abruptly and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like ‘living people are warm’. Wait, what?

“What was that?”

“Nothing.” He spit out the word. “Doesn’t matter. You’ve made it quite clear you’re not pleased with me as a roommate, so I’ll get out and leave you to it. You were here first, after all.”

“You _are_ kind of a terrible roommate,” Shion agreed, which earned him a burning glare but no vocal disagreement. “But not a terrible person. Really, I don’t mind sharing my room with you, quite the opposite. You can even sleep in my bed if you want, just – don’t kick me out.”

Nezumi raised his eyebrow. “Are you even listening to yourself right now?”

“Yes? What about it?”

“We barely even know each other and you go on about being fine with me in your bed. That’s a little suggestive, don’t you think?”

Shion smiled a little. “Coming from the guy who has no qualms about crashing in the bed of said stranger?”

“That’s different.”

“Really? How so?”

“It – just is, okay?”

Shion almost laughed at Nezumi’s expression, remarkably close to a pouting child. “We’re not strangers, I think.”

“You know nothing about me. Quite by design, might I add.”

“I know plenty.” Shion took a deep breath. “You’re sarcastic, you don’t like fish, you’re very smart but you’re not very systematic with your knowledge. You can be overly sensitive, but also lazy and careless about details. You love your books, though you don’t really seem to care where you leave them. You can be really picky if your soup doesn’t have the right amount of salt. And you’re a restless sleeper – I assume you have nightmares, if it warrants kicking me in your sleep three times before kicking me out of bed.”

“Never hearing the end of that, am I,” Nezumi murmured, but he seemed quite taken aback as Shion continued.

“What I don’t know about you are the facts, mostly. Your major, your job, things like that. I guess I’d like to know that, purely out of curiosity, but…” Shion thought about his next words carefully. Words came out easily with Nezumi, but he’d gotten scolded before about his limited vocabulary. “It’s okay. I would like to know more about you, and I enjoy spending time with you, so I’d be quite sad if you left, really. I don’t think we’d see each other much at school. You’re… well… I guess I’m mostly trying to say that I’m drawn to you.”

Nezumi made a sort of choking sound and then immediately went for his bag.

“Wh… What are you doing?”

“Finding my dictionary. You clearly need some useful vocabulary smacked into that brain of yours.”

“Nezumi, I’m being serious here!”

“Don’t say stuff like ‘drawn to’ so easily, you airhead!”

“Then what do I say? I lo…”

Nezumi groaned. “Don’t even think about finishing that sentence.”

“Then don’t leave.”

“Is this blackmail? I stay and you stop spouting nonsense?”

Shion grinned. “Maybe.”

 

So maybe Safu had had a point that day, when she had expertly pointed out in painstaking detail that Shion mentioned his annoying messy roommate quite a lot for someone he was supposedly so exasperated by. And maybe Nezumi wasn’t that bad a roommate after all, once Shion could convince him to actually do his chores like a decent person.

There weren’t any drastic changes, of course. Nezumi still loudly complained he was busy and had better things to do than organizing his books, though he did have the manners to tell Shion thanks when he did so instead and even took over cooking duty that day. Nezumi’s mice were still not in a cage, but Shion didn’t really find that many droppings and he liked the little critters around, so he never complained about them and hoped housing wouldn’t either. Nezumi still stole from the packages Shion’s mother sent him, but considering Karan had lately taken to sending quite a bit more muffins than Shion could eat by himself, he didn’t bother with scolding him.

And  Nezumi still fell asleep on Shion’s bed, sometimes not even bothering to change his clothes after a late class. Shion honestly didn’t mind, even though Nezumi still kicked in his sleep. Shion didn’t get kicked out anymore, and he actually liked his own bed best, so. Whatever.

Nezumi might still kick, but after Shion woke up a couple of nights in a row with an arm loosely wrapped around him, he figured he could make that little sacrifice.

**  
**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Shion's ramble is more or less entirely taken from the novels, only slightly rephrased.


	3. Plane ride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Nezumi takes a plane, much to his displeasure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... I have a tremendous fear of flying and as I write this I am 2 nights removed of flying to the other side of the world. I'll get back to you if this helped my own fears in any way at all.

Nezumi had been squeezing his arm rest for ten minutes straight and the plane hadn’t even taken off yet. He was starting to suspect that this would not be a very enjoyable trip.

He’d been entirely opposed against air travel anyway. It was unnatural and he much preferred to have his feet planted firmly on the ground. Unfortunately, the invitation had come only two weeks in advance and walking hadn’t really been an option. Plus, well, the ticket had been paid for. This restructure committee or whatever really wanted him to be there.

Truth being told, Nezumi hadn’t really intended to return to the city any time soon. He’d left as soon as he could; the people he belonged to were no longer there, and there was nothing that tied him to the place. But now he’d gotten an invitation to be there for some kind of conference or congress as the ‘sole representative’ of a lost people, something about preserving their culture and heritage and making sure they wouldn’t be forgotten, only in very expensive yet unimaginative words.

He’d almost refused, but the writer had been very persistent in their pleading and the plane ticket was already paid for.

So here he was, in a plane he wasn’t particularly enjoying on his soon-to-be way to a city he wasn’t particularly looking forward to enter. Great. Fantastic, really.

“Hey – are you okay?”

Nezumi almost jumped out of his skin when he heard a voice near his ear. “What the hell!”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” A young man had occupied the seat next to him without Nezumi noticing. He seemed honestly sorry, eyes showing concern. Quite dark eyes that looked almost purple, Nezumi noted somewhere in the back of his mind. The man’s white hair was more striking, however. “I didn’t mean to startle you. You looked rather tense, so… first time flying?”

“First and last if you ask me,” Nezumi groaned.

The man softly laughed at that. “Not a pleasure trip, I take it.”

“You must be a genius.”

The man softly hummed in response. “My name is Shion,” he said, despite the fact that Nezumi hadn’t asked and wasn’t interested.

“Good for you, Shion.”

Shion just smiled. “You could tell me your name in return, if you like. And I’d sit back a little if I were you.”

The latter comment got to Nezumi first, and he looked out of the window anxiously. The ground was still stable.

“If you want to trade places, please tell me. You still can now.”

“No, it’s…” Nezumi took a deep breath. “It’s fine.” It really wasn’t, but hell if he was going to admit that to a stranger. Plus if they were going to crash, he’d rather see it with his own eyes so that he could… skydive out of the plane or something, whatever.

“Planes are really safe, you know.” Shion continued babbling next to him, and Nezumi wondered if he was just talking to himself at that point. “They hardly ever crash, and even if they do, in most cases your chances of survival are very good if you follow the procedures.”

“You’re just making that up.”

“Of course I’m not.” He actually sounded insulted. “I did my research the first time, you know. I’ve flown lots of times since. It’s much safer than taking the car or even the train, trust me.”

Nezumi scoffed at the ‘trust me’; as if he was going to trust a total stranger, even over what he claimed were facts.

He wasn’t going to admit it did make him feel a bit better, though his stomach was still doing somersaults at the thought of going into the air at all.

Shion stopped talking for a bit as they were told the emergency procedures, which did absolutely nothing for Nezumi’s nerves. The plane had started riding, too, and it was going faster and faster every second now. Nezumi pressed back into his seat, squeezed his hand rest  and tried very hard to think of something else, didn’t matter what.

Maybe it was for the best Shion interrupted his thoughts, since reciting _Hamlet_ didn’t really help the whole ‘I am about to face my own mortality’ feeling that was creeping over him.

“You didn’t tell me your name.”

“Do I have to?”

“Not necessarily, but figuring we’ll be sitting next to each other for quite some hours, it might be handy for me to know your name.”

 Nezumi sighed and turned his head enough to face the white-haired man beside him. “Or alternatively, we can each do our own thing and not bother strangers in the plane at all.”

“Sure. If you prefer to look out the window the whole ride, be my guest.”

 Nezumi hissed under his breath. “Nezumi,” he said after a short silence.

“Hm?”

“My name. Nezumi.”

“Nezumi?” Shion’s tone was pretty incredulous.

“That’s what I said, isn’t it? Not like you’re one to talk, flower boy.”

Shion smirked. “Well, Nezumi. What brings you to No. 6? Or do you have a transfer?”

“God, no. Some kind of congress or whatever, don’t really care.”

“And yet you’re going?”

“Hey, they paid my ticket, something about gift horses. I’ll see. I’m going back on foot, that’s for sure.”

Shion tried to catch his glance for some reason and smiled at him. “You’re a traveler? Not many people would consider walking a distance that others take a plane for.”

“I like to wander.” Something about the man kept Nezumi’s eyes on him. He was rather strange, all things considered. Nezumi hadn’t really given any indication of looking for a friendly conversation, and yet he was still trying to… And at that point, he caught sight of the window view. Oh no. “Those are clouds. We’re in the air,” he said, feeling the panic rising with his words, “how can we be in the air?”

“The plane departed while we were talking,” Shion lightly said, “I thought I’d distract you. It helped, didn’t it? Stay put, though, the seat belt sign will be on for a little while longer.”

Nezumi tried to disguise the shake breath he took as a sigh and clutched even tighter to his arm rest. His ears were starting to feel very unpleasant, too. Eugh. First and last time, definitely.

“What kind of books do you read?” Shion suddenly asked out of nowhere.

Nezumi raised his eyebrow. “What makes you ask that?”

“Well, your bag is kind of bulging. Since I can see rectangular shapes, my first guess is that it’s filled with books.”

Nezumi blinked in surprise. “Huh. It is.”

“Oh?” Shion smiled. “I’d think a wanderer would travel light.”

“I do. I took everything with me in here.” Nezumi lightly kicked his bag at his feet. “Got scolded for having an overweight bag, though.”

“You didn’t have to pay a fine?”

“I can be very convincing if I have to.”

It wasn’t meant as a joke, but Shion laughed anyway. “I don’t doubt it.”

“You are a very weird person,” Nezumi concluded.

“Thank you.”

 _Very weird indeed_. At that moment, a ‘ding’ sound interrupted Nezumi’s thoughts; he glanced up to notice the seat belt light had been switched off.  He exhaled the breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding.

Shion picked up his own bag now and took out a small laptop. “I need to work out some things,” he vaguely said, “but if you still want to talk…”

“You’re the weirdo who strikes up a conversation with a stranger in the plane, not me.”

“Right, right.” Shion simply opened his laptop with a smile. “Still, I’m here.”

 

Shion wasn’t actually good at shutting himself up, as he tried to strike up a conversation multiple times. Nezumi found it hard to admit, but he did have to confess at least to himself that he kind of – liked that. It took his mind off the flying for one.

In between his typing, Shion asked Nezumi all kinds of questions, the personal ones of which he expertly avoided. Shion had no trouble talking about himself, and Nezumi soon learned about his mother, her bakery, the childhood friend whose photo Shion had on his desktop and whom Nezumi had called his girlfriend until Shion corrected him with a slight blush. He had absolutely no qualms about sharing personal details with a total stranger himself.

Nezumi still thought he was weird, but hey, he’d had worse company.

 

It was warm. It wasn’t a burning warmth this time, but a comfortable one.

Nezumi had long lost track of time and he realized he must have dozed off for a while, as he opened his eyes and found the world outside in darkness. He then realized the window was very small, and that he wasn’t in his bed (his neck was a good indication of that – it hurt like hell) and more importantly, that he was still inside the plane. Next to Shion.

He’d fallen asleep on Shion’s shoulder. That was what the warmth was.

Nezumi almost jumped up in shock, only to find it pretty hard to do as Shion’s head was leaning against his own. Not only had the white-haired man allowed a perfect stranger to fall asleep on his shoulder without pushing him off, he’d apparently also felt comfortable enough to fall asleep himself. It must have been at least a while, as the screen of Shion’s laptop had gone black and Nezumi couldn’t remember the feeling of someone leaning on him. He was pretty sure that even half-asleep, he would have kicked their ass in that case.

Shion seemed a little restless; his fingers were twitching and he was mumbling something from time to time. If Nezumi didn’t know any better, he’d think he was having a nightmare.

He very softly raised his head from Shion’s shoulder now, trying his best not to wake the other up. Without warning however, Shion suddenly opened his eyes and stared straight at him, expression wild and a little panicked.

“Oh – oh, I’m so sorry,” he quickly said, “I guess I was more tired than I thought. I’m sorry, they gave us pillows and all, but…”

“No, it’s fine,” Nezumi heard himself say, despite this definitely not being ‘fine’ to him in theory. Theory didn’t account for strange white-haired men, apparently. “Hey, were you having a nightm…”

“Please return to your seats,” the clear voice of one of the flight attendants said then, mercifully interrupting Nezumi’s unintended display of concern. “we will be landing shortly.”

_Well, shit._

Shion lightly smiled, though he still seemed a little shaken. “Do you need me to distract you again?”

“I don’t _need_ you for anything.” It came out harsher than intended, which in turn surprised Nezumi himself – why in the world would he be nice to some stranger he’d probably never meet again after this? Why did he care that he would probably never meet him again?

“Oh. Well. Right. Sorry for suggesting.”  
“You can still talk, though,” Nezumi said, “if you like.”

Shion’s face brightened considerably at that. Nezumi just did his best to contain his own smile as he watched the other man frantically gathering his laptop and other belongings and pushing them back into his bag.

 

Shion did indeed talk all throughout the landing, and Nezumi just let the words slide off him as he stared out the window, frightened but not frightened enough to not want to look outside. It was still dark, and he could see the lights on the ground coming closer and closer.

 Then without warning, Shion suddenly seized his hand and squeezed it, right at the moment there was a bump and the plane hit the ground. Nezumi squeezed back without a thought.

Just as suddenly, Shion let go of him again, offering him a rather sheepish grin by means of apology. “Safe landing. Just as I said.”

Nezumi sort of hummed in agreement, silently wondering if maybe Shion had been afraid of landing himself. He’d almost resolved himself to either asking him about it or teasing him with it when he realized that of course, he’d never see Shion again after today. Why did he keep forgetting that?

 

People were murmuring around them and started picking up their bags in preparation to leave the plane, glad to leave their seats after such a long flight.

Shion however lingered for a bit, meaning Nezumi had to stay put until he decided to actually move. “Ehm. Nezumi – I have to hurry up once I get out of the plane,” he said rather hesitantly as he grabbed something from his pocket. So much for being in a rush. “But I just… Okay. Here’s my card.” He quickly pressed the piece of paper in Nezumi’s hand. “Please, just – if you want to stay in touch, give me a call, okay? I’d like that. I really would.”

Shion didn’t give him the time to respond as he got up and mingled among the other passengers who were making their way to the doors.

Nezumi leant back with a defeated sigh, checking the card. Hang on. _Member of the Restructural Committee of No. 6_? 

He didn’t have to check the letter he’d received to know for sure it was the same committee that had invited him in the first place. He wondered if Shion had made the connection himself.

_Guess we’re going to see each other soon again anyway, Shion._

And strangely, Nezumi thought to himself as he took up his bag and lined up to leave the plane, he found himself quite looking forward to it.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I write this, it's 2 days after I took that plane ride. I did not have a Shion next to me, that was a disappointment and I want my money back. 


	4. A date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Shion is trying to get out of a date. Or is he?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stories always get away from me; this was supposed to be 'fake dating' but oh well.

“I-I’m really sorry, but as I’ve told you before, I am really under no obligation to take a _date_ to the party…” Apparently Shion might as well have tried talking to the wall, because the woman in front of him had no intentions of taking no for an answer.

She wasn’t actually taller than Shion, but certainly had that air to her. He didn’t even know her name; she was a secretary of another department and he’d only seen her from a distance at meetings. And yet here she was, asking why he wasn’t asking her out already for the anniversary party of the committee that Shion was indeed more or less obliged to attend, being one of the first members and all.

“Everyone already thinks you’re a workaholic, Member Shion,” the woman argued, and well, she had a point there. “If you take me with you, you will at least keep up the appearances of having a normal social life. And won’t it be fun, getting to know each other a little better?”

His best friend Safu had never hesitated in the past to accuse him of being too obtuse to get any advances, but even Shion noticed the undertone in that ‘getting to know each other’.

“I really don’t think…”

“Excuse me.”

Both Shion and the woman looked up. A young man had appeared, who had managed to sneak up on them without being noticed and stood just a couple of feet behind Shion now. Shion didn’t know him, but he first noticed the man’s dark hair and his general frame before their eyes locked, and Shion got drawn in by grey, grey eyes.

His thoughts stopped completely for almost half a second, which was pretty impressive by Shion’s standards. “Ehm – hi?” he managed to squeeze out, noticing to his horror his voice was in a much higher pitch than usual.

The man just smirked, his eyes still on Shion as he addressed the woman.  “Sorry, milady. Shion here is too polite to tell people no, but I can assure you he already has a date.”

 “I… I…” Whatever Shion had intended to respond with, the words kind of died in his throat.

Meanwhile, the woman was miraculously backing off. “Oh, you mean… huh. Well, that explains some things,” she said, her eyes going from Shion to the other man and back. She gave them both a weak smile. “You could have just said so! Well, then, I’ll see you two around I suppose.”

Shion still hadn’t said a word by the time she’d walked out of earshot, and he was still staring at the man who had saved him from at least one forced date. “Why did you do that?” Shion eventually asked.

The man shrugged. “You seemed uncomfortable, I thought I’d help you out. Consider it my good deed for the day. Your gratitude is appreciated.”

 “Oh, eh, right. Thanks,” Shion said, still a little flustered from the intervention and those _eyes_. “But I think she’s under the impression now that _you_ are my… you know.”

“Well, she backed off once she thought you already had a date, right? Mission accomplished. The means don’t really matter.”

“So what do I say when you don’t show up?” This was risky, Shion realized. But the grey-eyed man was about to walk away, and something inside Shion told him to make him stop, to keep him here and not let him walk away just like that.

The man shrugged. “Not my problem. I only said you already had a date, it’s not my fault if people jump to conclusions.”  
“Wait, but – what’s your name?” Shion blurted out next.

The man raised his eyebrow. “And why should I be handing out my name to perfect strangers?”

“For the same reason you came to the rescue of said perfect stranger,” Shion said, “and if we’d supposedly have gone together, I figure I should at least know your name so I can tell them who blew me off, exactly.” Maybe that wasn’t the right phrasing, after all.

The man scoffed. “Listen, _Shion_. I happened to pass through and catch your conversation, you seemed uncomfortable, I figured I’d say a couple of words to help you out. That’s _it_.” He turned around so that Shion was facing his back, but he didn’t start walking. “Nezumi.”

“W-what?”

“Are you deaf? Nezumi. That’s my name.”

“Right!” Shion dashed forward so he could look him, Nezumi, in those beautiful grey eyes. He still didn’t want him to leave. “Okay. Well, thank you, Nezumi. I still have to find a date now, but you did help me out. Ehm. Are you new to the city? I haven’t seen you before.” _And I would have remembered you, I’m sure_.

“I’m a wanderer.” Nezumi shrugged. “And that’s about as much personal information as I’m willing to share. Now hop along, Shion, I’m sure you have important things to do, all dressed up in a suit like that.”

“I just got off work, actually,” Shion brightly said, “and how do you know my name?”

“I told you, I caught your conversation. She said your name. Did you leave your brain at home?”

“Oh.” Shion considered this. “She did. You’re sharp.”

“Can’t say the same for you.” Suddenly, Nezumi’s fingertips were against Shion’s forehead, only to lightly flick him off. “Must be nice, being such an airhead. Be careful you don’t get eaten by the big bad wolf.”

He was still trying to leave, and Shion still wasn’t about to let him. Not yet. “Where are you staying? In the city, I mean. A hotel, or…”

“None of your business. Geesh, I’m starting to regret butting in.”

“I’m just asking, because. Eh.” He had to play this well. “I know my way around the city, so I could show you around, maybe, and I can point you to the good hotels or bed and breakfasts, whatever you prefer…”

“Shion.” Nezumi was smirking, of all things. “Stop talking, you’re abysmal at this. Just ask me out if that’s your intention and I might even say yes. I honestly can’t even tell at this point, what with all your blabbering.”

“W-what?!” Asking someone out was on a completely different level than just… trying to make Nezumi stick around, getting to know him a little better, getting to look into those eyes a little longer… Okay, so maybe it wasn’t that far off. “Would you? I mean, say yes? If I asked?”

Nezumi sighed. “How about we start with coffee and say it’s to repay me for my heroic save earlier, hm?”

 

They did indeed start with coffee. And another one the day after, and yet another. Despite Nezumi’s rough words every now and then, he somehow kept saying ‘okay, sure’ when Shion asked him to meet again the next day.

Nezumi was a lot of things Shion wasn’t: well-read, well-travelled, well-spoken. He knew many things and he had seen more of the world than Shion could ever dream of, stuck as he now was in his committee job. Still, Nezumi wouldn’t talk about why he was in No. 6 in the first place, or if he intended to stay, or even where he’d come from in the first place.

Shion found himself telling Nezumi a lot more, though. He talked about growing up with his mother, about his best and dearest friend Safu, about working on the committee and about the upcoming anniversary party that he had been forced to attend.

Nezumi could take a hint.

“Don’t even think about asking me as your date.”  
“I didn’t even say anything yet!”

“ _Yet_. ‘Yet’ being the key word here. Honestly, Shion, you’re way too trusting to begin with, I could be an assassin hired to kill you. I just _happened_ to pass you as you got in trouble, and you willingly invite me to leave together? Golden opportunity.”

“Huh.” It hadn’t even crossed Shion’s mind. But as he looked at Nezumi, trying to catch the look in his eyes, he knew his instinct had been right. “But you’re not. Hired to kill me, I mean.”

“I could just be biding my time for all you know, waiting for the opportune moment. You’re a big shot in that committee, aren’t you? Surely you must get threats. Are you always this naïve?”

“Of course not. I can look after myself.” _I know I can trust you._ Shion had the feeling it’d be best if he didn’t say that last part out loud, however.

Nezumi sighed in exasperation and quickly switched subjects.

 

Though Nezumi didn’t always seem to be that interested, he did apparently hear whatever Shion told him. After a week or so, he occasionally asked about projects Shion had mentioned in passing, and he seemed very interested in his mother’s baking.

“Hello, Shion, it’s been a while.”

Shion had been so caught up in the conversation he hadn’t even noticed Safu entering the café until the point she passed their table.

“Oh, hi Safu! I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

“So it would seem.” She smiled and then turned to face Nezumi. “Would this be the illustrious Nezumi, by any chance?”

“Illustrious, hm?” Nezumi repeated, raising his eyebrow at Shion. “Exactly what have you been saying about me?”

“Nothing but good things,” Safu abruptly said, “to the degree that it becomes quite tiresome to listen to, actually.”

“S-Safu!”

“Oh really?” Nezumi was smirking now, his eyes still on Shion. “Do tell, now you’ve got my attention.”

Shion hid his face behind his hands and wished really, really hard that he could just turn invisible before this turned any worse. And of course, it did.

“Have you accepted his invitation for the committee event yet, Nezumi? It’s clear that you’re going to say yes, but I think Shion would like to know for sure.”

Shion peeked through his fingers just in time to catch Nezumi’s rather stunned glare at Safu. “Excuse me?”

“For one, you were leaning in when I came here,” Safu said, not a trace of humor in her voice as she was just stating the facts. “Making an effort to listen and to show you were listening. I didn’t catch your conversation, but you were smiling at Shion’s words, and you were staring at his lips just now, which are all very clear signs of…”

By accident or by design, Nezumi coughed once, loudly enough to drown of Safu’s final word which seemed to consist of three syllables with ‘a’ and ‘o’ sounds. “Point taken, thank you.”

“Good.” Safu smiled to him in earnest before she directed herself to Shion again. “I’ll leave you two alone, I thought I’d say hi. It’s nice to talk to you face to face, Shion.”

“It is – sorry, I’ll make it up to you soon, okay?” he quickly offered, knowing full well that they’d been meeting less than usual these days and that he could only partially blame that on work.

“Your treat next time, then,” Safu cheerfully said.

Shion watched her walk up to the counter to order before he turned back to face Nezumi again. His expression was unreadable.

“So you’d ‘like to know for sure’, huh.”

“Well, you said to ‘not even think about asking’, so I figured you wouldn’t…”

“Then don’t just ‘think’ and consider saying the words out loud. Please do make a little effort, though. I’ve been trying to give you some coaching this week, but your vocabulary is still atrocious.”

Nezumi’s tone was a lot lighter than his words would suggest, and Shion knew that a big smile was forming on his own lips without his consent.

“Okay, Nezumi.” He cleared his throat. “’Would you like to accompany me to the committee event next weekend?’ Was that alright?”

“It’ll do.” Nezumi shrugged. “I guess I will. You can consider it my parting gift.”

That got Shion’s attention even more. “Why, aren’t you staying longer?”

“What, for you? Bit presumptuous of you, your majesty.” Nezumi had taken to that nickname after concluding how big Shion’s role was in the committee, just before announcing Shion seemed to have an awful lot of free time for someone ‘so important’.

Shion had to admit that his coffee breaks were substantially longer than they’d ever been, but at least he was no longer accused of being a workaholic.

“Well, not for me specifically, but…”

“I’m not making any promises yet.” Nezumi thought it over before he amended, “well, not _that_ promise. I promise I will accompany you, though. As your so-called date. Is that enough to satisfy his royal highness for now?”

Shion felt the smile returning and relief washing over him. “It is. It really is.”

 

Nezumi didn’t bring it up anymore after Shion had given him the written invitation, and as such, he only knew that he could expect Nezumi to show up around the corner of the city hall which still went by the name of Moon Drop.

So maybe he was a little shameless in checking him out.

“What? The invitation only specified a suit, no color,” Nezumi said, gesturing to the white suit he was wearing. Shion had gotten used to seeing him in dark shades, but the only dark now was Nezumi’s hair and the shirt he wore underneath his jacket.

“I… We match,” was the first phrase that made it to Shion’s lips. It was true; he was in black, a white shirt underneath to match his own hair. They matched like mirror images.

“Why yes, we do. You are truly a genius as well as completely predictable.” Nezumi smirked. “Why, you thought I’d go in black too so I could blend in with the crowd?”

“You’d never blend in,” Shion blurted out, which probably came out wrong, so he quickly added, “not to me. I mean, eh. You’ll always stand out to me?”

“You’re blushing, airhead.” Nezumi softly pinched his nose and promptly held out his arm. “Well, come on. It’s a date, right?”

Shion grinned and seized that arm all too willingly. “It’s a date.” **  
**


	5. Library

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Nezumi's usual reading spot is taken.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like last chapter, sometimes stories just get away from me. Less library and more... Nezumi being annoyed, I guess.

Someone was sitting on the library bench under the tree when Nezumi got to the square.

Normally that wouldn’t be a problem, but this someone happened to be sitting on _Nezumi’s_ bench under _Nezumi’s_ tree. Not in the literal sense, of course; the bench was library property, and he guessed the tree was too as it was on the same grounds. Still, it had become his usual spot this summer. It was under the shadows of the branches of the tree, still warm enough to catch the sunny weather, and far enough removed from the children’s section of the building to read in peace.

Unfortunately, someone else had made the exact same discovery and had gotten here before Nezumi today. The white hair made him think it was some old guy, but upon slightly closer inspection, the young man looked like he was around Nezumi’s own age. He looked slightly ruffled around the edges and he was wearing a suit, though he’d taken off the jacket and was just in his shirt, sleeves rolled up but tie still tied.

Nezumi was watching from a distance, but close enough to notice the man’s lips were moving. Whom was he talking to? Or was he reading out loud?

More importantly, why did he care? This was Nezumi’s bench, and this guy had just walked up and taken it. Nezumi should either tell him to leave or find some other place to leave, and he didn’t feel like the former. There was something almost disarming about the whole spectacle, this tightly-wound office guy who was taking a break by reading to himself on a bench under a tree. Whatever it was, it had to be enthralling, since he was absent-mindedly tugging his own tie and once pulled a little too hard, which caused him to jerk up from his book and stare at his own hand for a moment.

_If only no-one had seen that, huh_. Nezumi smirked, before realizing that _he_ was the one staring at a stranger on a bench for several minutes straight, so arguably he was the one who should be ashamed of himself here.

He walked off after that.

 

Nezumi didn’t find a bench that was as perfect as the one he’d  been forced to give up for that afternoon, though at least it was free when he got back to it some hours later. It was too late anyway, as the sun was starting to set and it was getting cold in the shadows and besides, he had work that evening.

Tomorrow, then.

 

Tomorrow came, and Nezumi went to the library as early as possible this time.

It was to no avail as his bench had been claimed again, by the same white-haired office guy. It was slightly cooler that day, so he had the sleeves of his shirt down this time.

Nezumi tried staring at him to see if that chased him away, but whatever he was reading must be incredibly interesting, as he didn’t look up even once.

And so Nezumi left again, eventually having to settle for a bench without nice shadows. The white of the pages hurt his eyes in the sun, but he didn’t have much choice.

 

Nezumi had resolved to speak up the next day to reclaim his bench and his peace and quiet. He tried to be there as early as possible again, in the morning this time, but last night’s performance had run late and his alarm hadn’t gone off, or if it had he’d slept right through it. Whichever the case, he made it there around noon again, which was decidedly too late to beat the white-haired newcomer to his spot.

He was indeed reading to himself, voice a quiet and amused murmur that only just made its way to Nezumi’s ears. He recognized the words he could make out. _The Little Prince_.

Rather than clearing his throat and speaking up, he stuck around and listened, hopefully enough out of sight for the other guy to never notice him.

He wasn’t a particularly good reader, actually. His lines were a little monotone, and sometimes he stumbled over the words. Maybe that was just because Nezumi was used to actors reading their lines, and this was just an office guy reading _The Little Prince_ to no-one in particular, and most certainly not to Nezumi. But he had a nice enough voice, and even though Nezumi knew the words, he still enjoyed the story that he caught the fragments of.

 

Nezumi was almost disappointed when he arrived on Saturday and found ‘his’ bench empty.

 

He came to the library again over the next week, checking out books he didn’t end up reading at the square at all but instead saved for breaks during rehearsals. Instead, he found himself lingering near the trees, as close to his former bench as possible without drawing too much attention to himself.

This time however, the white-haired stranger wasn’t alone on his bench. Nezumi blinked in surprise and took another look.

Since when had his mice been following him to the library? More importantly, why the hell did they prefer a stranger over their master?

But, on the other hand…

Nezumi got a little closer, enough to almost touch the bench, and yet the white-haired guy still hadn’t noticed him. He was bent over his book, squinting at the small font.

“ _What is he whose grief_ _bears such an emphasis? Whose phrase of sorrow conjures the wandering stars, and_ … Oh, oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there.” He seemed utterly startled to finally notice Nezumi, who was pretty much just standing right in front of him by that point. “Can I help you with something?”

“Probably the other way around. These are my mice, they must have gotten away while I wasn’t looking.”

“Oh.” He smiled, a genuine, unreserved smile people usually didn’t use for perfect strangers, and most definitely not for Nezumi. “That’s okay, they seem to like it when I’m reading. This one’s really taken by Hamlet. Is that his name?” He was holding up the lightest of the three mice that had perched around him, the black one even boldly sitting on his shoulder as if this guy was its master and not Nezumi. _Traitors_.

“They don’t have names, they’re just… look, sorry for bugging you. Actually this is kind of my bench, you see.”

When his face fell, Nezumi suddenly felt very childish for worrying this much about a place to sit.

“Oh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t know they were reserved, they didn’t tell me…”

“That’s okay. It’s not technically mine I guess, I just – sit there a lot. It’s okay. I can find someplace else.”

Instead, the man just shoved up a little, still smiling if a bit more hesitantly. “Well, if you don’t mind – it’s big enough for the both of us, I think. I can read in silence so you won’t be bothered.”

“Oh.” Nezumi pondered it for a moment. “No, that’s alright.”

“No, please, I insist! That or I’ll find another bench. I’m not attached to this one or anything, it just seemed most – pleasant. Quiet, nature-y.”

Nezumi grinned at his choice of words. “So you’re reading to pick up a bigger vocabulary, I hope?”

“Eh?”

“Never mind. Yeah, sure, we can share I guess. You don’t really have to be silent, it doesn’t bother me.”

Which was a lie, of course. Nezumi sat here specifically for the peace and quiet, but if the only noise would be this guy’s soft reading, it would be fine somehow.

“Okay!” He offered Nezumi another smile. “That’s nice. Ehm, I’m Shion, by the way.”

“Nezumi.”

“Nezumi?” Shion repeated the name, then looked at the three mice in front of him and back again. “Hm. Okay, Nezumi. Do your mice have names, too?”

Nezumi brushed off the seat he was offered and sat down, book in hand already. “Of course not, they’re just mice.”

“You should name them! You could easily name this one Hamlet, you see, he likes it – and maybe this one can be…”

“I thought you promised to be quiet,” Nezumi reminded him, “you can read here if you like, but you’re _not_ naming my mice. I’m drawing the line right here.”

“Okay, sure. Just for the record, I think they’d like it.”

Nezumi somehow resisted the urge to thwack him with his book. “Shut up and read.”

 

Much too soon, Shion suddenly smacked his book shut, a neat bookmarker in place. “Break is over,” he announced, “I’ll leave you alone now.”

Nezumi raised his eyebrow. “You come all the way over here to read on your break? The library does allow you to take out books, you know. That’s kind of the point of a library.”

“I know.” Shion smiled. “I’ve been told I need to get out more, though, away from work completely rather than just eating my lunch behind the computer. My secretary, my best friend, my mom and even someone from the local shelter all conspired together to get me out into the fresh air. So I have extra long breaks during the afternoon.”

“Workaholic, huh.”

“Kind of, according to them.” Shion got up now. “Well, I have to go. See you, Nezumi.”  
“Yeah. See you.” He didn’t even realize it was a promise for a next meeting until Shion was long out of sight.

 

They were indeed both there the next day. Shion greeted him and gestured for him to come sit on the bench, and so they read that afternoon as well, mostly in silence that was occasionally broken by conversation. Shion did continue to read out loud, usually much to the interest of Nezumi’s mice (which promptly got names; Cravat and Tsukiyo in addition to Hamlet, and Nezumi wisely decided not to question this). And occasionally, Nezumi found himself no longer focusing on his own book, but on Shion’s voice instead.

 

It quickly became a habit: with rehearsals for his new play in the mornings and actual performances in the evenings, Nezumi spent his afternoons on his usual library bench. Only from now on, he was joined by Shion during week days. He wasn’t always silent, either, and Nezumi found himself neglecting his own book from time to time to talk to him.

“I was thinking of reading to some kids,” Shion mused out loud, “there’s a couple of nice children who come over at my mother’s bakery pretty often, I think they’d like it.”

“Hm. Wouldn’t pick that, though,” Nezumi said, nodding at Shion’s copy of Hamlet, which he had already finished before and was now reading for a second time. Or third; Nezumi wasn’t really keeping count. “Maybe go with _The Little Prince_ instead. Or the happy one, but I don’t think you’ve read that yet.” Shit. Shion hadn’t exactly kept him up to date with his reading records, so there was only one way he could have found that out. What a fantastic job he’d just done.

“Ah, very good guess.” Shion gave him the benefit of the doubt. “I’ve indeed read _The Little Prince_ a while ago… I think I’ll try it. Or the happy one, which you just mentioned. Ehm, is that the title?”

“Just _The Happy Prince_ ,” Nezumi murmured, secretly pleased with the easy way out.  “Oscar Wilde,” he then added after a short pause, just in case Shion didn’t know. So far his impression was that Shion was smart, but definitely a bit of an airhead and not at all well-read despite his reading sessions.

“Oscar Wilde, Happy Prince. Got it.” Shion nodded once.

“What, you don’t need to write it down?”

“I have a good memory.” Shion suddenly smirked. “Which is also why I remember I saw you here, earlier. You were here before, a couple of weeks ago. At first I just saw you sitting on this bench, and then the next day I sat down here myself. I think I saw you for a moment, from a distance. Actually, I… I was kind of hoping you’d sit down next to me at some point. I don’t know why.” His smirk turned into a little awkward smile. “Turns out you just wanted the seat, huh.”

Nezumi shrugged. “The company isn’t so bad.”

And that was it. He wasn’t going to confirm that he had indeed been watching Shion for a while, if Shion had even noticed so in the first place. He wasn’t lying, however. The company really wasn’t too bad.

Oh, and of course it helped that Shion occasionally brought some extra pastries from his mother’s bakery.

Still, as far as strangers with unusual hair colors stealing seats went, he could have done a lot worse than Shion. Even if he named his mice without permission, and even if he kept interrupting Nezumi’s reading time with senseless questions like ‘won’t you come read with me for the children, I bet you’d be great’. And well, even if he kept reading out loud next to Nezumi, savoring the words as if they were only just put on paper for the first time, as if Shion had never experienced reading before. He was getting better at reading, too, but Nezumi never told him so.

Instead, on one day, several weeks after he’d first sat down on his bench that had so quickly become _their_ bench, Nezumi had put his hand between them. Shion had followed his example without looking up from his book, and Nezumi had taken the opportunity to lace their fingers together. Neither of them moved from there until Shion absolutely had to go. It had been one of those moments were words weren’t needed for once, no matter how much they both enjoyed reading.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The quote is, of course, from Shakespeare's _Hamlet, Prince of Denmark_ , Act 5, Scene 1.   
> ...I could be all poetic about it but truth is, I saw 'wandering stars' while browsing through the file looking for a good quote and I was sold, meaning be damned. It just had to be Hamlet for the mouse, so sssh.


	6. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a window has opened and a reunion has come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A wild canonverse ficlet appeared!
> 
> ... okay so technically, I was going to do six AUs and one canon ficlet, but the first five ran out of hand and 5+1 also makes six, so I skipped whatever I was gonna do for the last one.  
> I hope to kind of weave them all together here, though there is a distinct lack of coffee. Oh well. Pretend they had some before.

It was storming outside.

The wind was howling, violently shaking the nearby trees and bringing big, hard drops of rain with it. Yet Shion had still kept his window open that night, and he was leaning on its frame in order to get the most of this storm. It made him feel more alive, somehow. The wind, the water on his face. Once again, he felt the urge to shout into the storm, having his voice swept along with the roaring of the wind.

He resisted.

There really wouldn’t be anyone out there to hear him this time.

“If you’re _trying_ to catch a cold, then by all means, keep that window open,” a gruff voice now came from behind him. “But at least wait until I’m in the guestroom.”

Shion turned around with his heart picking up in speed, the way it still did whenever he faced the owner of that oh-so-familiar voice. Shion thought he was just giving him a happy, unassuming smile, but Nezumi quirked his eyebrow once they were face to face. “What, were you screaming again?”

“What? No, of course not,” Shion hurried to say, unable to help himself from checking Nezumi out who had just come out of the shower. He’d hastily thrown on some sweatpants and nothing else, as he was still drying his hair with a towel.

“Whatever you say. Just close the damn window, I refuse to take another step into this room if it means getting soaked.”

“But you’re already wet anyway,” Shion remarked, simply stating the facts as Nezumi was quite visibly still a bit wet from the shower.

Nezumi snorted in response. “And here I was, thinking you were still having trouble coming on to me.”

“Wha- Nezumi! That wasn’t what I… I mean, not that I’m _opposed_ to it, but…”

“Quit blabbering and shut the blasted window and I might just give you a retake.” The words came out with a growl as Nezumi closed the distance between them in a couple of long strides, only to put his hand on Shion’s which was still resting on the window frame. “Close. It. You gave me a key, remember? I can come in through the door like a normal person now.”

Shion smiled and allowed Nezumi to close the window with both of their hands together. “You’re not normal, though.”

Nezumi scoffed near his ear. “I know your highness could still use some lessons in the romance department, so let me give you a hint.” He resolutely put both his hands on Shion’s waist and pulled him in. “That, Shion, was absolute _shit_. Zero out of ten.”

 “Only because you didn’t let me finish.” Shion worked up a pout, the one he knew always threw Nezumi off-balance a bit because he was still not one hundred percent sure if Shion was only pretending to be upset. Soon he’d learn, but until then he’d still get to use it. “You’re not normal to me, Nezumi. Other people have a key to this place, too – my mother, Inukashi, Rikiga…”

“And seriously, what the _hell_ were you thinking?” Nezumi promptly interrupted him. “If I find that old geezer passed out drunk on our couch ever again, I swear I’ll…”

“That’s why.”

Nezumi blinked. “Come again?”

“ _Our_ couch. You said ‘our’, not ‘your’.” Shion smiled. “That’s why you’re not just ‘normal’ to me. You live here too, like you were meant to.”

A pink hue that he would no doubt deny at any cost slowly but surely started spreading on Nezumi’s cheeks. “Smooth recovery, your majesty.”

“Hm-m.” Shion leaned in a little more, wrapping his arms around Nezumi’s mostly exposed waist. “I guess I was just… wondering,” he said, mostly to himself as he leaned on Nezumi’s shoulder. “Reminiscing. Meeting you for the first time, wondering where we would be now if we’d met in another way.”

Shion felt rather than heard Nezumi’s quiet hum in response. “Does it matter? We’re here now, aren’t we?”

“Yeah, we are. You came back, like you promised.”  
“I never break a promise.”  
“I know. Inukashi kept telling me that too, and even Rikiga had to admit it when pressed.” Shion smiled against Nezumi’s shoulder, enjoying the arms that were being wrapped around him. His shirt was getting damp, but that was a trifle sacrifice to make. “Just, you know – what if. What if our lives had been different and there hadn’t been a stormy night and an open window.”

“I’d be dead in a ditch somewhere, that’s what.”

“Nezumi.” Shion softly pinched his side in retribution. “Work with me here. If our lives had been different, I said.”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“But what if…”

“No ifs.” Nezumi’s hands moved to Shion’s shoulder so he could push him away just enough to look into his eyes. “I’d always come back to you. I’d probably still be scared of you at first, and annoyed and exasperated and all of that…”

“Hey!”

“But I’d always come back to you in the end,” Nezumi smoothly finished, and this time it was Shion who was blushing, judging by the sudden heat rushing to his face. “And that’s enough of that for tonight, before you manage to find a way to make me do even worse, like professing my undying love for you or something else atrocious.”

Shion softly laughed. “Do you, then?”

“Do I what?”

“Love me. Undyingly.” That evidently wasn’t the best way to phrase it, as Nezumi groaned and slumped against Shion’s shoulder in defeat.

“I give up. It’s a good thing the window is closed or I would have thrown you out.”

“You wouldn’t, though.” Shion’s voice was entirely confident.

“No, I wouldn’t, that’s the scary part. In fact, I would jump out to save your life before mine, because apparently that is exactly how doomed I am. I guess it can’t be helped, so no falling out of windows.”

“And no jumping in front of guns,” Shion added, immediately wondering if he’d gone too far as his fingers found the now years old scar.

“No guns,” Nezumi agreed.

“Promise?”

It was small effort for Nezumi to pull him in just a little more, to press a long, soft kiss on his lips. “Promise,” he said at last. “Now go take a shower before you catch a cold.”

Shion looked down at his dampened shirt, which had been mostly dry before Nezumi’s appearance despite the open window. “And whose fault is that, huh.”

“I’ll take no such false accusations. Go shower and I may still allow you in our bed.”

“Technically it’s _my_ bed.”

“Oh no, you were the one who just declared this place ours, no taking it back now.” He pressed another kiss on Shion’s lips. “I wouldn’t want you to, anyway.”

“That’s good.” Shion took up his hand, gave it a soft squeeze. “I love you, Nezumi.”

“Yeah, yeah. Go shower, you airhead.”

Shion laughed out loud and took off, having heard the unspoken ‘I love you too’, and figured that it didn’t matter indeed.  

Because they were here now. Together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In retrospect, I think the first five chapters are more or less chronological at different points in their alternative life, in which the original No. 6 was still shit, but not AS much shit as it is in canon, and Shion became part of the restructural committee because of, eh, reasons. Clearly not for overthrowing the government with Nezumi by his side, but ssh.  
> Look they are just fated to meet okay TAKE IT.
> 
> Happy Double No. 6 Day!


End file.
